MLB insider Jeff Passan gives intel on Braves trade deadline

The trade deadline is about a week away, and it’s not going to be as exciting as it has been in years past for the Braves.

For the first time in nearly a decade, they’ll be sellers. Alex Anthopoulos really has no other choice, as Jeff Passan provides intel on Atlanta’s goals, headlined as ‘sbutracting, but not completely.’

The latest: This could be a boring deadline for the Braves, which is appropriate considering their season has been a snooze. Atlanta looked as if it were on the cusp of a dynasty after winning the World Series in 2021, 101 games in 2022 and 104 games in 2023. Then came the disappointment of 2024, which felt more aberrant than predictive.

Turns out this Braves team has even more flaws than its predecessor, some of which are due to injuries but more than that to substandard play. Hope does remain thanks to Ronald Acuna Jr.’s resurgence following a second ACL tear, Matt Olson‘s continued excellence and the emergence of Drake Baldwin, who, for all the warranted hullabaloo about Jacob Misiorowski, has been the best rookie in the NL. In a different world, the Braves might be inclined to move Ozzie Albies or Michael Harris II, both of whom have disappeared this season, but Atlanta doesn’t want to get rid of talented players at their nadir.

Instead, the Braves are left with trying to trade two former All-Stars in Ozuna and closer Raisel Iglesias, plus Pierce Johnson, who will be a good seventh-inning arm for a contender. Then they’ll start over with Acuña, Olson, Baldwin, Harris, Albies, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach — an excellent 10-man foundation — and rebuild around it on the fly, hopeful that the past two years were the anomalies and not the portent of something worse.

There have been multiple reports from various insiders that the Braves won’t trade any of their core pieces at this year’s deadline, which puts Marcell Ozuna, Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Bummer, and Pierce Johnson on the trade block.

Ozuna has already sparked serious interest from the Padres, with Hector Gomez reporting that a deal could soon come to fruition, with the Braves receiving two top 30 prospects from San Diego.

Iglesias, Bummer and Johnson might not seem like they would be highly sought after, but there are more buyers than sellers. That bodes well for Anthopoulos. The Braves will be able to get something in return for all of them if they want.

Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II are at least safe for now, with reports suggesting the Braves will eventually listen to offers in the winter but won’t during the trade deadline. Sean Murphy is in a similar boat.